Shaving blade conditioner



Aug. 1965 J. K. HANCHEY SHAVING BLADE CONDITIONER Filed June 12, 1963 Fig.

1N VENTOR.

Y M c m H K n m J United States Patent 0 lash 3,l5 ,252 SHAVING ELABE CGNDEIQNER John K. Hanchey, Eon 439, Brooltsville, Fla. F'led lune 12, E953, Ser. No. 287,391 i Claim. (6i. 51-4156) This invention relates to a shaving blade conditioner and is particularly concerned with the conditioning, honing and sharpening of razor blades through contact and relative motion of the cutting edges of the blade with a hard and preferably somewhat abrasive or hontype surface. More particularly, the invention is concer ed with the relative movement of the blade in contact with the internal surface of an internally cylindrical member such as glass or like material.

It has long been recognized that by subjecting the cutting edges of a conventional double edge safety razor blade to movement within a glass or like cylindrical member, such as a common drinking tumbler, a sharpening, honing or cohditioning action takes place. in this operatlon the common tumbler, or equivalent hollow article, is rigidly held in one hand, usually the left, against either rotation or reciprocation, while the blade is inserted and moved by the finger in an oscillating motion, back and forth against the internal stationary walls of the glass. It will, of course, be understood that the pressure of the finger flexes the blade so that the contact is not in a plane normal to the transverse plane of the blade and thus directly against the cutting edge of the blades but tangent thereto. it has been found that an internal cylindrical surface of longitudinally uniform diameter avoids the non-uniform blade to glass contact encounercd when a tapered drinking glass or the like is utilized. Furthermore, it has been found that though the member may be uniformally cylindrical, when it is held rigidly within the hand as the blade is moved, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to maintain a uniform axially parallel disposition of the blade during movement. viation from such parallelism obviously militates against perfection of conditioning action. Further, it has been found that if the motion of the blade is maintained in a simple transverse movement in a single plane while the cylinder rotates and thus moves transversely by virtue of such rotation, a more uniform, effective and efficient contact is provided. it is, however, difficult to maintain a straight alignment of the cylinder to secure continuous longitudinal alignment of the blade therein to ei-rect this preferred relationship when the element rolls in the palm of the hand without any guide means for maintaining a uniform transverse position thereof during such transverse movement. Further, it has been found that where a simple inexpensive cylindrical body, having an external smooth surface, is used, the frictional relation thereof with the palm of the hand, particularly when hand may be wet or soapy, is difficult to maintain.

it is therefore an OQlGCt among the objects of the present invention to provide a novel and improved safety razor blade conditioning device adapted to transverse movement over the palm of the hand by which its frictional relationship thereto cause rotation thereof while the blade inserted therein will be moved in a straight uniform path without oscillatory movement. Another object is to provide a blade conditioning device of the character set forth in which frictional means are provided for maintaining and/ or increasing a uniform frictional contact of the conditioning element for uniform rotational movement and transverse displacement in the palm of hand. Numerous other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which PEG. 1 is a prospective view of the present invention 3,199,252 Fatented Aug. 10, 1965 illustrating the manner in which it is disposed on the hand of the operator and the manner in which the blade is caused to reciprocate in a single plane to induce both rotary and bodily movement of the conditioning device.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the invention, shown separately.

Referring now to drawings, one form of the invention as depicted in FIGURE 1 comprises a hollow cylindrical member generally indicated by the numeral It). Member 1d may preferably be formed of glass but other hard internally smooth material may be employed. Thus the inventive concept embraces materials such as plastic, ceramics or even metal. The essential feature is that of providing an internal hard surface for contact with the edge of a safety razor blade in manner indicated in FIG- URE '1 whereby as the blade is moved transversely in a single plane such forced movement of blade will induce a rotation of the body it) to roll the same to and fro in the palm of the hand LE. to effect a reconditioning, honing and/ or sharpening action.

in the reconditioning of shaving blades it has been found by microscopic study that an important element in the deterioration of the cutting quality of the blade as it is used, is, at least in part, the result of minute transverse, closely spaced inwardly extending splits from a blade apex toward the body of the blade. In shaving the individual segments formed between such cracks or slits are moved out of alignment, one from another, to produce a microscopically apparent ragged edge. Such ragged edge may deprive the ability of the blade to perform the luxury shave commonly experienced with the first use of the blade. This contributing factor to the poor quality of shaving operation of the blade after use is not a sole factor since the apex of the blade will, of course, be dulled in repeated use and a sharpening or honing action by frictional contact with the concave surface will tend to resharpen the blade and restore the original edge of the blade apex. It has been found that by subjecting the used blade to the contact with a round internal surface such as provided by internal surface of the member 10 both reorientation of the individual blade segments re ferred to which may have become outo of line and at the same time frictional honing action is applied to the blade edge to restore its original sharpness.

In the past devices of somewhat similar nature and use such as a simple drinking glass held rigidly in the hand of the user tends to cause the pressure exerted by the finger to produce an irregular contact of the blades with the internal surface to preclude a uniform continuous axial alignment of the blade body with the axis of the sharpening surface and hence militates against a uniform, smooth action throughout the length of the cutting edge.

In my invention the member 19 is provided with a barrel ll of accurately uniform internal diameter throughout its length and hence without taper and without separate areas of separate cutting, honing or reshaping characteristics. While previous devices have been intended for use by a rigid grip by the left hand the present invention provides for the rolling action of the barrel 11 along the upturned palm of the left hand L.H., as illustrated in FIG. 1. While with such rolling action the tendency of the blade to depart from an axial alignment with the axis of the barrel is greatly diminished the present invention seeks further to insure maintenance of this relationship by precluding a relative angular motion of the barrel as it is moved bodily during rotation by rolling action of the palm.

These control features for the barrel are provided by the use of frictional bands 12 and 13 of rubber or the like applied to the barrel ll. The front band 12 and rear band 13 are of like thickness and jointly such bands provide parallel frictional contact on the palm of the hand.- Such contact tends to preclude both longitudinal sliding movement of the barrel 11 on the palm of the hand and track the rolling movement of the barrel to avoid deviation thereof from an original transverse orientation when the index finger F of the right hand RH.- is inserted with the blade andbears against the upper surface thereof. By straight transverse movement of the finger F of the right hand R.H. (see FIG. 1) the pressure is applied to the right edge of the leading edge of the blade in its movement as the transverse movement induces a rotary and thus rolling action of the barrel on the palm of the left hand L.I-I. The invention willthus carry out the primary concept of the invention which is to provide rolling blade conditioner by which the contact of the blade edge is main tained uniformly throughout the reconditioning action as the blade contacts the rolling internal surface to sharp- 'en, hone or straighten such surfaces as an incident to the "transverse movement of blade in a single plane parallel lar acceptance may provide a long life of luxury shaving comparable with the finest shave available with extravagantly priced blades of domestic and foreign origin.

It will, of course, be understood that in the practice of the invention, numerous changes, modifications and full use of equivalents may be resorted to. The suggested materials of the barrel and/ or the bands may vary widely. It

is to be noted that variations in configuration design or l materials will not constitute a departure from the spirit or scope of the invention as outlined in the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A double edged safety razor conditioner comprising, in combination, a hollow cylindrical glass tube of uniform internal and external circular crosssection and open at each end, said tube being adapted to lie freely across the palm of the hand of the user for free rolling movement therealong, and a pair of frictional circular bands of equal radial thickness circumjacently embracing one each of the opposed end portions of said tube,'said bands being of rectangular transverse cross-sectional shape to form tracks in the palm of the hand inhibiting slippage of said tube in the hand during said rolling movement.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 905,638 12/08 Von Beust 51-211.1 1,820,666 8/31 Jones 51211.1 1,857,066 5/32 Schwartz 51211.1 1,909,198 I 5/33 Lee 51211.1 X 1,949,804 3/34 Love 51-211.1 2,519,033 8/50 Eichorn 51-211.1

, 2,837,879 6/58 Lee 5l-211.1

FOREIGN PATENTS 363,991 12/31 Great Britain. 438,017 7/48 Italy.

51,855 12/32 Norway. 218,434 3 42 Switzerland,

RCBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner.

J. SPENCER OVERI-IOLSER, LESTER M. SWINGLE,

Examiners. 

